9 January 2009 - EU Policies and Funds have become increasingly important for Turkey.  Turkey is a candidate country for EU Membership, and the EU Acquis, EU thematic policies and EU Funds such as the Instrument for Pre-Accession (IPA) play an important role in the accession process. ECORYS and METU (Centre for European Studies of Middle East Technical University) are organizing a seminar series on EU Accession, EU Policies and EU Funds in Turkey.

The seminar series will be held in March - May 2009 and targets all people with an interest in EU developments, in particular those whose professions are closely linked to EU Policies and EU Funds Management. The location for the seminars is the METU Center for European Studies in Ankara. 

Participants can be civil servants and staff of international organizations such as EC Delegation in Ankara, embassies of EU Countries, ministries, public institutions such as State Planning Organization (SPO), NGOs, other relevant organisations such as Directorate General of EU Affairs (EUSG), and private companies.

Topics for this seminar series are:

1. Introduction in the EU Acquis, Cohesion Policies and EU Funds: EU Cohesion Policy Framework and implications for Turkey;
2. Competitiveness: Entrepreneurship and Innovation, recent policies and best practices from the new EU Member States and lessons learnt there;
3. Institutional and capacity building for EU Policies: Administrative capacity and project preparation;
4. Social Policies and Employment: EU Policy Framework, recent policy developments and best practices from new EU member States;
5. Project Development and Application: How to develop good projects and apply to be able to benefit from EU funds;
6. Regional Development: EU Policy framework, recent regional policies in the EU, implications for Turkey;
7. Evaluation and Project Appraisal for EU Policies: Regulatory Impact Assessment, Economic Impact Assessment and Cost Benefit Analysis as requirements for EU Funded policies;
8. Infrastructure: Transport and Environment Policies, EU Policy Framework, recent policy developments, lessons learnt from project evaluations in EU Member States and implications for Turkey.

Among the lecturers for this seminar series are:

• Professor Dr Atila Eralp, Director METU Center for European Studies
• Professor Alaeddin Tileyliolu, METU Center for European Studies
• Professor Dr Willem Molle, Professor EU Cohesion Policies, Erasmus University Rotterdam and former Chairman ECORYS Research and Consulting
• Dr Julia Djarova: Chairperson ECORYS International and Project Director EU Entrepreneurship and Innovation projects
• Dr Juliet Webster: expert in EU social policies, ECORYS/ECOTEC

For more information, please download the seminar flyer. You can also contact us at:

Gerbrand van Bork
T +90 312 428 2060
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